Good news coming from Australia as it seems Holden Special Vehicles will live on after 2017 even though local production will be terminated.

Several months ago General Motors announced plans to stop Holden production in Australia by the end of 2017, thus putting a nail in HSV's coffin as well. However, it doesn't seem to be the case as Holden Special Vehicles has just rehired ex engineer Joel Stoddart who says the company is going to be around "for the long haul."

He refused to go into any details about future products but it is believed the successor to the Australian-made Commodore will have something to do with a twin-turbo V6-powered Opel Insignia that has been spied testing in the last few months.

As most of you know, once Holden's Australian production will cease at the end of 2017, the company will start importing and rebadging all of its models.

This is why at the beginning of this month there was a rumor about HSV becoming irrelevant since Holden will begin importing and rebadging hot models such as the Opel Astra OPC and Insignia OPC but thankfully right now it seems that rumor will not materialize.

The new Chevy SS, an Australian import based on the Vauxhall VXR8, is a lower priced performance car with specs similar to the IS- F. 6.2 liter V8, 415 HP, 0-60 in 4.5 sec, top speed 165. I was next to one on the interstate for about 30 miles the other day. It was black and low key, but I noticed the wide tires and air dams, and when he floored it, I could hear the roar despite closed windows and Sirius XM. I gave him a little demonstration of passing power, but we never ran side to side. It has a 6 speed transmission, so I think I would have pulled away. For 45K, this looks to be a lot of car for the money, called the four door Corvette.

Straight line performance it is as great as the F's - I don't think the SS can keep up on the twisty stuff.

They haven't released timed laps of the SS yet, but I expect it to be about the same, maybe a touch quicker than the IS-F around the Nurburgring. Basis for this is that the Holden VF Ute SS Redline-- which is the same platform as the SS with a different body, weighs 100lbs less but makes only 348hp/381lbft--is just one second slower than the IS-F.

The "Commodore" moniker might be dropped in the years to come if we were to believe a report issued by local media in Australia.

Following General Motors' announcement to stop Holden's Australian production by the end of 2017, it now seems fans of the company are set to receive another major blow as the "Commodore" name could be axed. Even though ex Holden boss Mike Devereux promised to save the iconic moniker, apparently it won't be the case as reports are indicating a switch to a more global designation.

Rather than being a rear-wheel drive sedan built in Australia, the Commodore replacement will utilize a front-wheel drive layout and will be sourced from Germany's Opel, even though previous reports were indicating that it would end up being built in China.

More worrying is the fact that an insider previously said General Motors could decide to replace Holden altogether with Chevrolet if GM will consider Holden's image will be affected greatly by shutting down the production facilities. If this will happen, rebranding Holden's 233 dealerships will cost between 500,000 AUD and 1M AUD, with the bill set to be split equally between GM and Holden.

While not all reviewers working for Consumer Reports are as good as explaining themselves as others, the point of this Chevrolet SS review does go across: it’s a four-door Corvette-sleeper…

It’s actually a fair point, since the SS is still a pretty simple car in terms of engineering and it uses the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 out of the C6 ‘Vette, plus its looks don’t immediately scream out performance, even if it has 420 hp and 563 Nm (or 415 lb-ft).

It’s the car you buy if you wanted a BMW M3 or Audi RS4, yet you feel like owning an American car is where it’s at… If you approach it that way and choose to ignore the kind of quality the Germans and Japanese are sporting these days, you’ll probably love it, until, that is, you realize it’s an Australian-built Holden Commodore with Chevy badges…

Well sure but this thread is about the SS, Chevy and GM which is why there's no need to mention the other two

Yes, I agree the SS is the topic. But it doesn't exist in a vacuum, though, and, because of the limited-production status (which will hopefully change some for 2015), people who may want one and can't get one because of such limited supply may wind up down the street at the MoPar store looking at a Charger Hemi. Ford, of course, doesn't have any direct SS competition in the 4-door sedan range....you have to get a Mustang GT or Shelby for their equivalent engines.